Next to the eastern edge of London’s Olympic Park in Stratford is the Carpenters Estate which was built as a council house community in the late 1960′s. Expectations of estate refurbishment were followed by a long-period leading up to 2012 when flats and houses were unoccupied and boarded up. Talk to residents who moved in during the early years and a very different view of the estate emerges as a valued community and place to call home.
This project was completed in 2013 while studying for an MA in Photography and Urban Cultures at Goldsmiths College and in collaboration with the photographer, Orly Zailer. As part of the study we also conducted short interviews that reflected on ideas of what made a home, life on the estate over the years and the changed times of London’s housing landscape. We would like to thank again all the residents for their participation and interest and to the Carpenters Estate TMO for assistance in enabling the project to happen.